Relief ring for safety valves



F. H. HOPKINS RELIEF RING FOR SAFETY VALVES Filed June 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 dtiys:

Aug. 5, 1930. I F. H. HOPKINS I 1,772,004

RELIEF RING FOR SAFETY VALVES I Filed Ju ne 22, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 2 4w? rW M'MW A g- 1930. F. H. HOPKINS 1,772,004

RELIEF RING FOR SAFETY VALVES Filed June 22, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 m 1 l; y

I" u: E: ii -:i'? A9 '32 2m 29 2/ l 22 I7 20 6'0 23 Patented Aug. 5, 1930 NITED sta r es] 1-111" NT orricr -if FRANK n. HOPKINS, OEWORGESTER, irnssa erznsnrrs, Assrenon To somet me ASHCROFT HANCOCK COMPANY, inc, or 'naw YORK, N. a, a ooarormrron or MARYLAND 'A pplication filed June 22,

' This invention relates to safety or'relief I valves for steam boilers and other equipment containing an eXpansi-ble fluid under pressure. It is more particularly concerned with safety valves of the-.poptype and the relief rings with which such valves are commonly provided to cause a desired high lift of the valve when. opened by fluid pressure, and by the adjustment of which the blow back or loss of pressure occurring before the valve again closes is regulated. Its object, generally stated is to improve relief rings of this type in such fashion that the discharge capacity of the valve may be increased without increasing the blow back. In order to ere plain my purpose and the principles and means by which ,I have accomplished it in accordance with this invention, a brief discussion of the characteristics and principles of pop safety valves and their relief rings may be helpful. 7 V

such valves the member which opens and closes the escape passage isordinaril'y called the valveproper and is loaded by a weight or spring, usually a spring, with provision for adjustment of'the loading force. The valve proper is formed with a lip overhanging its seat toprovide areaction surface for the, impact of the escaping steam, An

adjustable ring, known as the relief adjust-y in-gring or'blow back adjusting ring, is; commonlyprovidcd to surround the valveseat and overlap the reaction lip of the valve proper, with an intermediate annular space around the reaction lip. Such ring isfre-- quentl'y called for convenience a relief ring and I will use that termgenerally in the following specification todesignate the adjusting rings of that character.

, The function of the relief ring is to cooperate with the reaction lip of'the valve-proper in causingthcescaping steam to open the valve widely and hold it open until enoughj steam has escapedflto relieve the pressure. In its perfcrrnance of this fllfiCtlOn 'lb so-obstructs or baffles: the escaping steam that a, lifting force is exerted on the reaction lip ad- 1; ditionaltothe static pressure of the steam on the area o'fth'cval-ve proper which covers& the; escape passage in the valve base. The

and discharge capacity of safety valves'deallowedto d'r'o'p below 192 pounds before the valvecloses. I To: meetthis: practically essem" RELIEF nine; FOR sarnrv VALVES 1928. Serial no. 287,622.

space between these surfaces, and'the' sti-fi'- V ness of the loading springare all determined according to principles of designwell under stood by engineers and manufacturers of valves to obtain the maximum feasible lift 60' signed to operate under different steampres sures and having different areas o-fva-lve sea-t passage. 1

The extent to which the relief ring-overlaps the valve proper is also a factor inthe design by which the lift of the valve proper is controlled and, in general,-as the overlap-is made greater or less, so will the li-ft'of the valve be greateror less. But this factor also influencesthe drop in pressure (called blow back in the art) which will occur'intheboiler before the-valve closes again after having been opened, It is not possible to makea safetyvalvc which will open, in'relieving a, given pressure to the. extent necessary mpre- I vent the-objectionable sizzling and; flutter-= 7 ing to which relief valves other; than those V ofthe pop type are subject,iwithout" permitting an appreciable drop of pressure before 7 again closing. It is important tomake the blow back as small as possible'in-order tol avoid waste of steam, and manufacturers'of safety valves are limited by the-boiler code: of the American Society of Mechanical Enfgineers to a maximum blow back of'four per; cent of the relief pressure. That is, i-fn'the pressure} at which the valve iss'et t'ol-open is c 200 pounds, the boiler pressure must n otibee '7 tial condition, the relief rings arem'ade just'ableso that, after having been construct.- ed and set up-according to a. design; intended to obtain a given lift and dischargecapacity, they: maybe movedtolshor ten the extent-ref; overlap in cas'e the blow back is "found made 1- test to be too -great; I=n thisway itfi'spossi' .bl'etoadj ust anysafety valve of properid'ee. sign so that the blow backwill notexceed-the;v permissible maximum, but this is. acconr- 35E plished at the sacrifice of desired discharge capacity, because the same adjustment which lessons the blow back also reduces the lift of the valve proper.

With the foregoing explanation in mind, it willjbe apparent that an improvement in the relief ring which increases the discharge capacity of the valve without increasing the blow back, or permits a given discharge capacity with diminished blow back, is to be desired. This object hasbeen accomplished in accordance with this invention by making the relief ring with the usual provision for manual adjustment to regulate the blow back and with a new capacity for self adjustment to permit a freer and more rapid passage of escaping steam when the valve is opened. The invention consists in a new construction of relief ring for the purpose set forth, having the self adjusting characteristics thus indicated, and in the combination between such relief ring and the other essential'elements of a pop safety valve. An embodiment of the invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, but

without limitation of the principles and scope of the invention to this specific embodiment. In the drawings, V Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a pop safety valve equipped with my new relief ring;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the relief ring removed from the safety valve and shown on a larger scale than that of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is in part an elevation of the relief ring shown in Fig. 2, and in parta section on line 3-3 of said figure;

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectional views taken on lines Fig. 2;. j

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing a modification in a detail of construction of the relief ring;

Fig.

ilar to F'ig. 1, but showing the valve proper 4-4 and, 5-5, respectively, of

- in open position;

8 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 of the relief ring, but showing'it as distorted by escaping steam.

-Lil-:e reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occur in all the figures. v 7

Before proceeding to a detailed description of the valve thus illustrated, I may remark that valves of the type here shown are generally .set in upright position with the valve proper above the seat and adapted to rise or lift in opening, and that the relief ring is lowered to decrease the amount of itsoverlap and thus decrease the blow back. In this specification 1 will assume for convenience that the valveproper and relief ring have,

this arrangement, but without intent to limit the invention as to the arrangement of the parts or the position in which the valve may be mounted for use. Hence the terms lift;

4 is a fragmentary sectional view sim rise and other terms of similar import are used herein not only with their specific meanings as related to the drawings and the usual arrangement of a safety valve, but also in a generic sense as meaning movement in a direction away from the valve seat, whatever may be the absolute direction of such movement. 1 wish to state also that in referring herein to the-use of the valve in connection with steam pressure, I have not intended to imply any limitation of use, but that" steam may be considered as typifying any expansible fluid, whether in a boiler or any other container or conduit which may be controlled by a safety valve.

In the drawings, 10 represents the base and 11 the bonnet forming the casing ofa safety valve and having an inlet- 12 to be connected with a steam boiler, or other container of fluid under pressure, and an outlet 13. 1 1 is the valve proper pressed upon by a spring 15, act ing through a spindle 16, toward a seat 17 which is formed on a bushing 18 mounted in the inlet passage of the base. The valve proper is provided with a lip overlying the axially, and has an axially extendingpart overlapping the valve proper and separated from the latter by an intermediate annular space. A locking pin 22 is removably screwed into the casing and extends into locking en gagement with external teeth 23 on the relief ring to retain the latter in'adjusted position.

As thus far described, the safety valve does not differ in principle from any safety valve of the pop type already knowmand represents i a standard design of such valve now on the market. Other designs of valve may differ in detail, as in the contours of the reaction'surface and of the relief ring, and in other particulars; but in principle they are all ess'en-.

tially the same as above described. However, although the relief ring ofthe present valve is like those of the prior art in that it overlaps the valve proper and is adjustable to increase or reduce the extent of overlap, it also differs materially from prior relief rings by new features and characteristics which accomplish the new and improved results of the present. 7

invention. as-will now be'described. I

Accordingto th s invention, the overlapping p'art' of the relief ring is composed of segments representedinthe detail views as 21,21221 and 21, which collectively form an interrupted annulus, and each of which is secured at one end to the base or body part of the ring andis otherwise free to swing. and flex outwardly throughout the balance of its length. Preferably the ring is' made ofv a single piece of forged or caststeel, cast iron,

- segments 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 of greater external thickness are left. Forpurposes of this description I call such segments lugs. A transverse slot or groove. 32 is out between theparts and 21of the ring ofsufficient depth to sever and separate these parts.

from one another except only at the lugs. Such groove is cut from the inner circum ference of the ring outwardly to an extent at least as great as the external radius'of the par 21, but not through the lugs. Axially extend ing slots are also cut tangentially of the outer circumference of the part 21 through the. lugs 28,- 29', 30 and 31 to an intersection with the groove 32. The part-21 is further out transversely adjacent to each of the lugs 24., 25, 26 and 27, whereby cuts 33, 34, 35 and 36 are made which divide this part of the ring into the segments 21, 21 21 and 21, previously mentioned. Such segments thus remain in inte gr al union at one end with the base of the rin but are otherwise free and independent of the base and of each other. The thickness of these segments is designedly made such that, having regard to their length, the stiffness and elasticity of the material, and the fluid pressure to which the ring is exposed, they will flex and spring outwardunder steam pressure. I prefer to limit the extent of such movement bypositive stops, and for that reason I provide the lugs 28, 29, 30 and 31, previously mentioned, which rise from the base part. 20 outside of the segments and are separated from the latter by the width of the tangential cuts. 7 j I Preferably the dividing slot 32 is located betweenthe limits of that part of the ring 7 which is internallythreaded and closely sure rounds and fits theexterior of the bushing 18,. so that when the segments are in the unstressed. and unfiexed positionthey embrace thebushing and the slot 32 is closed or obstructed thereby. And also the cuts between the adjacent ends of the respective segments are made as narrow as possible. They may be tangential to'a circumference concentric with the ring, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, and the segments may be given an initial set such that the cuts areentirfely closed 110111 3113 in. ord r to provide the least possible avenue for escape of steam, except -he ormal annular pace between the inner surfaceof the ring and the outside ofthe valve proper, beforethe segments have been sprung outward. It is not essential, however, that the cuts vshouldjhave this tangential arrangement, and they may be arranged radially, as shown in Fig. 6.

Y My improved relief ring functions thesame as theordinary reliefring insecuring a .de-v sired opening or lift of the valve proper. Y The relief capacity of the safety valve is determined primarily by the'distunce of separation of the valve proper from its seat, and this separation is determined by the use of my ring, as usual. When the steam pressure is great enough to'lift thevalveproper, the first effect of the outflowing steam isto strike theoutlying reaction surface 19 and raisethe valve proper until the space between its seating face and the valve seat bears the ratio to the width of the annular space between the lip of the valve proper and the relief ring which establishes a balance between the clos spring and the steam force. Immediately thereafter, the steam pressure flexes the spring segments of'the relief ring outward.- 1y, as indicatedin Fig. 8,-en1arging th s nular space and also opening a' channel remain open after the boiler pressure has begun todrop. Hence the valve will closegagain f beforethe pressure has dropped as much as around the outer edge of the valve seat to 1 would be necessary with a relief ring of preinitial lift of the valve proper.

I have founglwas the result of extensiveexperiments thatit is POSSllDlQ'lLO set the-relief the valve proper and get'a higher liftand larger escape capacity than withthe use of I 'relief rings of the tyj ieszpreviously known,

with the same amount ofblow'back. That is, theflexib hty of the overlapping segments" vious design when setto cause an equivalent 511 ring truce invention higher in relation to pe'rmitsla design of relief ring whichgives a ring, while still keeping the blow back with ossible to assurean'increase of 25% in the capacity-rating of this type of valve. It

ference in the action of the valve-1n any. case,

from which it will be understood that even a greaterv overlap than is possible with asolid in the permissiblelimit. it. has thus been 1 slight deflection of" segments in myyi-m; I

provedrelief'ring, inadditionto theopening provided'by theslot32, has amarked eifect ln I controlling the closing ofthe valve.)

It is to be understood that the relief ring may be made with more or fewer segments than the number herein shown, and that such segments may be united or attached to the body of the ring in other ways than that disclosed, all within the spirit of this invention and the scope of the protection which I claim for it. Essentially the relief ring embodying this invention is automatically self adjusting to permit an increased escape of steam after having caused a given lift of the valve proper, and it is manually adjustable to control the extent of the blow back. In the use of the term manually herein 1 have intended to include any mode of adjustment which is effected in any manner otherwise than au tomatically by the action of the escaping steam. And in speaking of the lift of the valve proper I have had reference to the position of the valve here shown and its customary placement, but havenot intended to imply any limitation of arrangement of parts or placement of the valve as a whole.

W'hat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety valve comprising a valve proper, a seat-therefor and a relief adjusting ring surrounding the valve seat and overlapping the valve proper with an annular space between its overlapping part and the valve proper said ring being adjustable manually to vary the extent of its said overlap and being automatically adjustable under pressure of outflowing fluid when the valve is open to increase the space volume available for escape of the fluid.

2. A safety valve comprising a, valve proper a seat therefor and a relief adjusting ring adjustable manually to determine the amount of blow backand being-self adjusting under pressure of escaping fluid to enlarge the space contiguous to the valve proper for escape of the fluid. 7

3. A safety valve comprising a valve propa seat therefor and a relief adjusting ring manually adjustable and automatically self adjusting to secure increased opening of the valve proper by a given fluid pressure Without increase in the pressure drop required to cause reseating of the valve.

i. In a safety valve, a relief ring having a base and an axially extended annulus formed of segments each attached at one of its ends.

to said base and otherwise free to move relatively thereto.

5. In a safety valve, a relief ring comprising a base and an axially extended annulus consisting of segments each rigidly connected at one end to said base but otherwise separated from' each other and from the base and of elastic structure adapted to be flexed outwardly by pressure ofv the fluid released by said safety valve.

6. In a safety valve, a relief ring comprising a base and an axially extended annulus consisting of segments each rigidly connected at one end to said base but otherwise separated from each other and from the base and of elastic structure adapted to be flexedoutwardly by pressure of the fluid released by said safety valve, and stops interposed be tween tne free-ends of the segments and the said base arranged to limit the outward flexure of said segments.

'7. In a safety valve, a relief ring slotted signature.

FRANK H. HOPKINS. 

